MLB.com beat writer Brian McTaggart blogs about all things Astros.

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Astros manager Brad Mills was forced to watch Tuesday’s 11-2 win over the Cubs from a suite at Minute Maid Park after being suspended earlier in the day, but the view had to be sweet no matter where he was sitting.

The Astros pounded out 16 hits for the second time in three games and reached double-digit hits for the fifth consecutive game – their longest such streak in nearly two years. Michael Bourn, Angel Sanchez and Hunter Pence went a combined 9-for-15 with seven runs scored and seven RBIs.

Bourn went 2-for-4 with a double, two stolen bases and a career-high four runs scored, Sanchez tied his career high with four hits and drove in a pair of runs and Pence went 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs. The Astros were 9-for-20 with runners in scoring position.

Brett Myers, who had a rare chance to pitch with a big lead, went seven innings and allowed one run and eight hits to improve to 6-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his last seven starts against the Cubs. He’s also 10-1 with a 2.26 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) in his career at Minute Maid Park.

“That’s how you win ballgames,” Myers said. “You’ve got to have pitching and defense and you’ve got to score some runs. We played well at everything – defense, pitching was good and we swung the bats really well, too. Last night’s game had a lot to do with how well we played. We showed ourselves we could fight back with any team no matter who was in there. They came out from the get-go swinging tonight.”

Here are some postgame notes:

The Astros have recorded double-digit hits in each of their last five consecutive games and are hitting .339 in that span. The last time the club had a streak of five games with 10 or more hits was May 1-5, 2009.

The 11 runs scored by the Astros on Tuesday are the most since Aug. 3, 2010, at St. Louis, when the team scored 18 in an 18-4 win.

Astros starting pitchers have posted a 2-1 record and a 3.32 ERA since April 7. In the first five games of the season, Astros starters combined for an 0-4 record and a 9.62 ERA.

The Astros have five triples this season and entered Tuesday’s game tied for first in the Majors with Texas and Toronto with four.

Astros pitchers did not allow a run from the fifth inning Monday night until the seventh Tuesday, a span of 11 innings, marking the longest scoreless innings streak by the club this season.

RHP Brett Myers allowed one run in seven innings, lowering his season ERA to 1.77. Myers owns a 6-0 record with a 1.74 ERA in his last seven starts vs. the Cubs, and in his 14 career starts against the Cubs, he is 11-2 with a 2.16 ERA.

Myers is 10-1 with a 2.26 ERA in 20 games, 18 starts, in his career at Minute Maid Park.

SS Angel Sanchez tied his career high with four hits Tuesday for the second time (also Aug. 3, 2010 at St. Louis). Sanchez has five hits in his last seven at-bats with four RBIs in that span (.714). In his last last games, he is hitting .526 with five RBIs.

C Humberto Quintero tied his career high with three hits for the fifth time.

CF Michael Bourn scored a career-high four runs in the win. His previous high was three runs, accomplished four times. He also stole bases on consecutive pitches.

RF Hunter Pence’s four RBIs were his most since Aug. 17, 2010, vs. the Mets, when he also drove in four.

CF Michael Bourn and 2B Bill Hall each extended their hitting streaks to a team-leading seven games on Tuesday. During their streaks, both players are hitting .333: Bourn is 10-for-30 and Hall is 8-for-24.

The Astros will try to snap even their series against the Cubs when they play the middle game of the series at 7:05 p.m. today at Minute Maid Park. Brett Myers will start for the Astros in search of his first victory of the season, but he’s put together a pair of quality starts.

Myers has a 10-3 career record and a 2.21 ERA against the Cubs and has posted quality starts in 12 of his 13 career starts against Chicago. He was 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA in four starts against the Cubs last year and is 8-0 with a 2.01 ERA in his Astros career at Minute Maid Park.

Facing a left-hander, Brett Wallace is out of the lineup.

Here are the lineups:

ASTROS

CF Michael Bourn — Has hit safely in six consecutive games, going 8-for-24 with three walks and two stolen bases.

SS Angel Sanchez — Leads the team in batting average (.342), RBIs (6) and multi-hit games (4).

RF Hunter Pence — Snapped a three-game hit streak Monday. He hit .429 (6-for-14) with three RBIs during the streak and has hit safely in seven of his 10 games this season.

1B Carlos Lee — Making first start of the season at first base.

LF Jason Michaels — Making first start of the season.

2B Bill Hall — Hit his sixth career pinch-hit homer in the seveth inning Monday night and is one of six players with a pinch-hit HR this season.

3B Chris Johnson — Has hit safely in four of his last five games.

C Humberto Quintero — Has started six of the Astros 10 games, including both of the club’s wins, and has hit safely in three of his six games.

The Astros teased their fans on Monday night and nearly pulled off what would have been a terrific comeback. The Astros were trailing 5-1 in the seventh when they rallied for three runs off Cubs starter Ryan Dempster, getting a pinch-hit solo home run from Hall and a two-run homer by Angel Sanchez – the first of his career – to cut the lead to 5-4.

Then the frustration kicked in. The Astros were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position, including 2-for-7 in the final three innings, and stranded a total of 12 runners.

“It’s tough when you have the record we have to take away moral victories,” Hall said. “Moral victories won’t get you in the playoffs, but at the same time we’ve got to take this momentum we did gain tonight and take it into [Tuesday].”

Here are some postgame tidbits:

Houston has recorded double-digit hits in each of the last four games and is hitting .324 in that span.

Astros starting pitchers posted a 1-1 record and a 3.77 ERA through their second turn in the rotation. In the first turn, Astros starters combined for an 0-4 record and a 9.62 ERA.

Houston’s bullpen combined for five scoreless, hitless innings and has not allowed a run since Saturday, a span 6 2/3 innings.

SS Angel Sanchez hit his first career Major League home run in his 317th career at-bat in the seventh inning. The game marked Sanchez’s second multi-RBI game of 2011 (April 5 at Cincinnati).

Matt Downs, who recorded a RBI-pinch-hit single in the fifth, is 3-for-7 with three RBIs in his last three games.

Bill Hall hit his sixth career pinch-home run in the sixth inning with he clanked one of the right-field foul pole. It is his first pinch-hit homer since May 14, 2010 at Detroit, and the first by an Astros player since Jason Michaels on Aug. 1, 2010 against the Brewers.

Bill Hall has an extra-base hit in each of his last three games (double, triple and homer).

CF Michael Bourn and Bill Hall each extended their hitting streaks to a team-leading six games. During their streak, Bourn is hitting .320 (8-for-25) and Hall is hitting .368 (7-for19).

RHP Mark Melancon tossed one scoreless inning and has not allowed a run in his six appearances this season, covering five innings.

Monday’s s attendance of 20,175 is the second-smallest crowd in Minute Maid Park history, trailing a crowd of 18,594 on April 8, 2003 against the Reds.

All fans with a valid ticket to tonight’s game will receive a free sandwich at Chick-fil-A on Tuesday courtesy of Bill Hall’s seventh-inning home run, which hit the right -field foul pole.

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